Sprung from a independent, local beginning, Hard Graft brings together a unique combination of wool and leather to craft premium bags and laptop sleeves. Their honest and high-quality products have quickly spread globally, and are in high demand. Born in the UK, and handcrafted in Italy by two hard working designers... We love the unique site navigation and simple, beige-toned approach.... More

Eating out is never so much fun as when you travel and dine, exploring new locations and sea-side destinations. So, whether you are near to this Boston locale, or dropping in from points West, you get the feel here of a fast, and easy, "on-to-go" sort of location. Fundamental to this experience is the idea is that they bring the restaurant to the farmer. Neat concept. Neat execution. Great experience.... More

Wonderfully spirited design of contrasts and subtle details. This site integrates nature, openness, typography and information design all into one very attractive package. We were most impressed with the skillful blend and transitional elements that nimbly mingle the textures from the "earth" to "sky" portions of the design.... More

Brooklyn Fare are purveyors of fine foods, groceries and more in downtown Brooklyn, NYC. Their goal is not just to sell raw and prepared food, but to also be a centerpiece of the Brooklyn community. This site reflects that initiative with large personable photos of their staff and products, along with well devised copy writing. Clean, minimal and beautiful.... More

Open up your consciousness to the Transcendental Meditation Program in this peaceful and enlightened design. Highs include the clean blue and white color scheme, clear breakdown of information, simple typography, informative research graphs, and the happy, personal presentation. Self-explorations in the use of the grid gives each section its own personal experience. So close your eyes, take a comfortable seat, and use your imagination to take you away from your day... then when you are done, visit TM.... More

Gorgeous sites are even nicer when they have a purpose. American Express funds $2.5 Million to 5 user-selected projects addressing everything from environmental issues to education, community development to health. Meaningful content drives great design, as shown in the clear and crisp layout of this altruistic project. But just as important as the site design, is the variety of brilliant ideas [link] giving hope to people from all walks of life, no matter what country or culture.... More

An exceptional restaurant and celebrity chef (Starr Restaurants) deserves a modern Flash site with sharp transitions, perfect execution and appetizing presentation. The "flavor profiles" of this design tantalize the user to explore the aesthetic and gastronomic qualities of the restaurant in this full-screen Flash presentation. Check out the menu and tour sections where tasty transitions make it feel like the site is being diced and sliced for your dining pleasure.... More

For a publicity and marketing site for Lithuania, this "unofficial" gateway site for the small eastern European country has some great information design. In one compact package, it wraps up important business and tourism information and presents it clearly to the viewer. The gateway has a bit of an advertising feel to it, but overall, the site accomplishes it's goal of changing perceptions about this country, which is technologically advanced and socially open-minded.... More

The bright and colorful (and hotly debated) new logo for the London 2012 Olympics brand designed by Wolf Ollins makes a bold statement with its release last week. While some stalwart UK news critics are up in arms (notably the Sun and Independent) and designers are being polarized from coast to coast, some of the brand messaging is lost in the public's initial gut reaction to the logo. It's actually quite a positive message of inclusion, fair play, and interaction  even welcoming people to download the logo template and design their own variations (hint, hint, 'threadsters.) Personally, we're for anything that stirs up this much debate and interest in graphic design... and additionally any logo that has been described as both "new rave", a "toilet monkey" and looks like a graffiti mural gets our vote! Finally, since no one can quite decide what the logo is, or whether it will... More

A fun, funky and fabulous color rush greets you in the technicolor product site for Vitamin Water. This nutrient-infused drink has taken the bottled beverage market by storm (recently purchased by Coke for $4.1B) due in no small part to its bright color-coded labeling and effervescent copy-writing. The site takes the branding to the next level by bundling each flavor with its own expressive animated illustration  that harmonizes quite well with the current "Coke side of life" branding which also uses bright, abstract illustrations (and no, we don't believe in coincidence). Be sure to note the undulating, color coded navigation and the celebrity tie-ins that lend even more personality to each flavor. A brilliant example of successful brand marketing.... More

A unique Mexican food chain in the making, Tijuana Flats approaches food, wall art and hot sauces with an "anything goes" approach  but also heralds a strong community-based value system. The result is a fun feeling food joint with twist of lime and a spicy appeal. We really liked the down-home Flash site that employs several different types of hand-drawn fonts (and perhaps one of the few times we'll conceed that more than 5 different font styles work well together). Nice typography and non-technical appeal... and be sure to check out some of their irreverant advertising campaigns.... More

Here's an interesting site (we missed) that launched back in 2005... Remote controlled, dynamic lightingan advanced lighting solution that brings the rythmic fluctuations of daylight into the working environment. Dynamic Lighting is something you install into your home or office that alternates between blends of cool and warm light to create a stimulating (or soothing) ambience, based upon the time of day, or your own preferences. It's a really interesting technology, and this clean, sky-tones-on-white website has all the right demos and diagrams to communicate the concept with the utmost clarity.... More

about

promotional design is...

Sites that promote and market specific products or services in which the design is approached with more of an advertising slant. Marketing details, copy, branding and originality of design are all considered.